
We Wear the Mask
15 True Stories of Passing in America
Beacon Press
Published on 10. October 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-0-8070-7898-3 (ISBN)
Description
Why do people pass? Fifteen writers reveal their experiences with passing.
For some, "passing" means opportunity, access, or safety. Others don't willingly pass but are "passed" in specific situations by someone else. We Wear the Mask, edited by Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page, is an illuminating and timely anthology that examines the complex reality of passing in America.
Skyhorse, a Mexican American, writes about how his mother passed him as an American Indian before he learned who he really is. Page shares how her white mother didn't tell friends about her black ex-husband or that her children were, in fact, biracial.
The anthology includes writing from Gabrielle Bellot, who shares the disquieting truths of passing as a woman after coming out as trans, and MG Lord, who, after the murder of her female lover, embraced heterosexuality. Patrick Rosal writes of how he "accidentally" passes as a waiter at the National Book Awards ceremony, and Rafia Zakaria agonizes over her Muslim American identity while traveling through domestic and international airports. Other writers include Trey Ellis, Marc Fitten, Susan Golomb, Margo Jefferson, Achy Obejas, Clarence Page, Sergio Troncoso, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, and Teresa Wiltz.
For some, "passing" means opportunity, access, or safety. Others don't willingly pass but are "passed" in specific situations by someone else. We Wear the Mask, edited by Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page, is an illuminating and timely anthology that examines the complex reality of passing in America.
Skyhorse, a Mexican American, writes about how his mother passed him as an American Indian before he learned who he really is. Page shares how her white mother didn't tell friends about her black ex-husband or that her children were, in fact, biracial.
The anthology includes writing from Gabrielle Bellot, who shares the disquieting truths of passing as a woman after coming out as trans, and MG Lord, who, after the murder of her female lover, embraced heterosexuality. Patrick Rosal writes of how he "accidentally" passes as a waiter at the National Book Awards ceremony, and Rafia Zakaria agonizes over her Muslim American identity while traveling through domestic and international airports. Other writers include Trey Ellis, Marc Fitten, Susan Golomb, Margo Jefferson, Achy Obejas, Clarence Page, Sergio Troncoso, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, and Teresa Wiltz.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Boston, MA
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
282 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8070-7898-3 (9780807078983)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2017
Beacon Press
€17.49
Available for download
Persons
Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page
Content
Editors’ Note
College Application Essay #2
Brando Skyhorse
Secret Lives
Achy Obejas
The Inscrutable Alexander Fitten
Marc Fitten
Letter to the Lady Who Mistook Me
for the Help at the National Book Awards—
or Some Meditations on Style
Patrick Rosal
Passing
Teresa Wiltz
Which Lie Did I Tell?
Trey Ellis
Negroland
Margo Jefferson
Slipping into Darkness
Lisa Page
Among the Heterosexuals
M. G. Lord
On Historical Passing and Erasure
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Stepping on a Star
Gabrielle Bellot
Class Acts: Ways to Be Something You’re Not
Clarence Page
Jewess in Wool Clothing
Susan Golomb
Passing Ambition
Sergio Troncoso
Terror and Passing
Rafia Zakaria
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgments
College Application Essay #2
Brando Skyhorse
Secret Lives
Achy Obejas
The Inscrutable Alexander Fitten
Marc Fitten
Letter to the Lady Who Mistook Me
for the Help at the National Book Awards—
or Some Meditations on Style
Patrick Rosal
Passing
Teresa Wiltz
Which Lie Did I Tell?
Trey Ellis
Negroland
Margo Jefferson
Slipping into Darkness
Lisa Page
Among the Heterosexuals
M. G. Lord
On Historical Passing and Erasure
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Stepping on a Star
Gabrielle Bellot
Class Acts: Ways to Be Something You’re Not
Clarence Page
Jewess in Wool Clothing
Susan Golomb
Passing Ambition
Sergio Troncoso
Terror and Passing
Rafia Zakaria
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgments